Ransom note analysis

[Ames]

And you think Patsy was calm enough to compose a three page letter after her daughter had just died? If it were my child that had just died, I don't think I could have even lifted a pen.

She composed herself long enough to write that note, to keep her butt out of jail.

 

[Ames]

...and "I advise you to be well rested" couldn't have come from a movie or nintendo game? Too much of the ransom note sound like lines borrowed from the entertainment industry, and if a show is watched over and over again, alot of it gets memorized. Is it still impossible to believe that ideas for the ransom note came from a nine year old's fascination with a particular story line, and possibly his mother edited it to make it sound more adult-like with correct grammar, spelling and punctuations?

So, you think that 9 year old Burke, was strong enough to displace a portion of his sister's skull, and put a crack in it...and garotte her too?? Or do you just think that he wrote the note??

 

[Ames]

I think Patsy sat at that table w that box of kleenex she denied owning(that was in her house,nonetheless),and cried her eyes out..got that part over with ....then kicked into self-preservation mode.She'd had cancer..she did NOT want to spend whatever time she had left in jail...or worse,get the death penalty.And there was Burke to think about too..plus the public humiliation she would have gotten from it..and John having to spend a fortune on legal bills to defend her..and maybe not enough money left for her cancer treatments after that.She had a whole host of reasons,(even if JR was the one that did it and she was covering for him),to get it in gear and write that note.

I agree. She sucked it up, and wrote that note...to keep herself out of prison. Its amazing how much composure you can muster, when you are trying to save your own butt.

 

[DeeDee249]

I am not sure if BR ever proivided handwriting samples.
Now, a COLLEGE age kid could have written it, but I know JAR did give writing samples and was ruled out. Remember the ONLY person who could not be excluded as the author of the note was PR.

 

[Ames]

I am not sure if BR ever proivided handwriting samples.
Now, a COLLEGE age kid could have written it, but I know JAR did give writing samples and was ruled out. Remember the ONLY person who could not be excluded as the author of the note was PR.

Exactly!

 

[JMO8778]

I agree. She sucked it up, and wrote that note...to keep herself out of prison. Its amazing how much composure you can muster, when you are trying to save your own butt.

ppl are stronger than they think,yes,esp when they have good reason to be.

 

[calicocat]

So, you think that 9 year old Burke, was strong enough to displace a portion of his sister's skull, and put a crack in it...and garotte her too?? Or do you just think that he wrote the note??

Didn't Burke whack JonBenet in the face with a golf club once? The severity of the injury would depend on the kind of weapon inflicting the wound. In any case, everyone believes that the garrott/murder scene was staged by the parents, not the brother.

 

[DeeDee249]

When you think about it, how hard can a kid that age whack a baseball? Or a golf ball? (think about Tiger Woods at age 3!) Pretty hard, when using full force. If that large flashlight was the weapon, it might be more difficult for a child built like BR, but still not impossible.
There were other possible weapons that could have been considered besides that flashlight, though it is the most likely. There were those golf clubs, shown in crime scene photos in the room right outside the wineceller door. (The very same clubs JR had Aunt P "retrieve" from the house). Your child found murdered in your basement, and you worry about your golf clubs, as if you couldn't afford to buy another set! That is suspicious to me right there.
There was also the baseball bat found outside. And the log grabber from a fireplace set seen on the floor in the crime scene photos in the VERY wineceller where JBR was found, just a few feet away from the white blanket.
I know the flashlight was considered, but does anyone know if LE tested the log grabber, bat or golf clubs?

 

[BBB167893]

How about "Victory! She Bears The Crown" as a possibility for "Victory! S.B.T.C."?

It would explain a lot!

 

[Indigo]

Indigo, I've been reading your posts on that thread on the Topix forum. You are good.

You make the comment about Patsy thinking JonBenet's death must have been for a higher purpose. That Patsy truly believes this and isn't faking that belief. I think you have summed up the situation perfectly. We expect to see this family staggered by grief and instead they look like they have just returned from picking berries.

The mind can be an amazing place.

I used to work for a guy who was the most outwordly Christian person I have ever known. I mean he wore his Christianity on both sleeves. I really believe he was a devout Christian. He was also one of the meanest persons I have ever worked with. Truly mean. I guess there are some things for only God to understand.

Thank you for your kind words, Albert. I read here often (and at FFJ), and never cease to be amazed by the insights and contributions made by various posters over these long years.

Your assessment of Patsy's "berry picking" mindset is right on the money, IMO. We know instinctively that the Ramseys' reactions don't "fit" with the circumstances of JonBenet's death, so some other reasoning process has to be at the root of it. You stated it best, "The mind can be an amazing place."

 

[Indigo]

Then shouldn't it have been S.W.T. C.....instead of S.B.T.C.?

Hi Ames,

I wanted to thank you for your thread on FFJ about things Patsy said were out of place. It's a lot of work to go through all of the interviews, and your finds have been quite an eye-opener for me. Great work.


On the subject of SBTC as opposed to SWTC: Before DOI came out, I had the theory that SBTC stood for "She Bears the Crown," but other than Patsy's interest in the pageants, I had no other basis for that belief. Upon the release of DOI, I got goosebumps when I read the end of the chapter, "Like Mother Like Daughter," where Patsy described JonBenet as wearing the most "glorious crown of all. "

At that point, I decided to do a search for the words "bears the crown" to see what I came up with. I would always find the same thing...the lyrics to a traditional Christmas Carol, "The Holly and the Ivy." I finally had the "Aha!" moment, though, when I reread DOI, and found John's description of the Ramseys' Christmas Eve:

"That Christmas Eve, with all the gifts arranged, Patsy and I had taken in the beauty of the evening. The tree, the lights, the gifts. It doesn't get more magical than this, I thought as the timeless melody of "Silent Night" from the Mannheim Steamroller CD played softly in the kitchen..." pg 2 DOI


The song "The Holly and the Ivy" is performed by the same artist! This is where theory comes in, because I can never know for sure if Patsy knew all of the words to the hymn, but here they are as follows. I've emphasised the words that I think had an influence on Patsy's choice of words for her final sign-off in the ransom note. The meaning of the song couldn't be more significant when you consider the circumstances. See what you think:



The holly and the ivy,
When they are both full grown
Of all the trees that are in the wood
The holly Bears The Crown
(chorus)
The holly Bears a blossom
As white as lily flower
And Mary Bore sweet Jesus Christ
To be our sweet Saviour
(chorus)
The holly Bears a berry
As red as any blood
And Mary Bore sweet Jesus Christ
To do poor sinners good
(chorus)
The holly Bears a prickle
As sharp as any thorn;
And Mary Bore sweet Jesus Christ
On Christmas Day in the morn.
(chourus)
The holly Bears a bark
As bitter as any gall;
And Mary Bore sweet Jesus Christ
For to redeem us all.
(chourus)
The holly and the ivy
Now both are full well grown,
Of all the trees that are in the wood,
The holly Bears the Crown.
(chorus)

 

[BOESP]

At that point, I decided to do a search for the words "bears the crown" to see what I came up with. I would always find the same thing...the lyrics to a traditional Christmas Carol, "The Holly and the Ivy." I finally had the "Aha!" moment

As SuperDave said above, that would explain a lot!

If I remember correctly, during one of Patsy's interviews she was shown a series of photos. One showed the controversial red turtleneck and, apparently, she also saw a crown in the same photograph and started weeping. At that point the interviewer called for a break because Patsy became so upset at seeing the crown.

Interesting reaction in my opinion.

 

[Indigo]

As SuperDave said above, that would explain a lot!

If I remember correctly, during one of Patsy's interviews she was shown a series of photos. One showed the controversial red turtleneck and, apparently, she also saw a crown in the same photograph and started weeping. At that point the interviewer called for a break because Patsy became so upset at seeing the crown.

Interesting reaction in my opinion.

I couldn't agree more BOESP! Patsy's visceral reaction to the crown in the photos tells us something about what it symbolized for her. If I had any doubts about the meaning of SBTC, these remaining details have removed them all for me.

A picture of Patsy "bearing the crown" on CNN:


http://www.geocities.com/Area51/nebula/9337/ramseyscnn.jpg


The last message Patsy wanted to share before her death:


"While it would be easy for us this day to remember and celebrate the face of Miss West Virginia and her beautiful crown, I challenge you to seal in your hearts the image of Patsy wearing her heavenly crown," the Rev. Nancy Folsom said. "Because we say without a doubt today that she will indeed dwell in the house of the Lord forever."

Folsom said that's the message Ramsey, 49, wanted to share before she lost her 13-year battle with ovarian cancer Saturday."(snip)

http://www.dailycamera.com/bdc/county_news/article/0,1713,BDC_2423_4812820,00.html

 

[BBB167893]

Any time I hear the words "Ramsey" and "Folsom," I get the urge to sing a parody song I wrote. (Good thing Johnny Cash is dead, because it would surely kill him!)

 

[JMO8778]

I couldn't agree more BOESP! Patsy's visceral reaction to the crown in the photos tells us something about what it symbolized for her. If I had any doubts about the meaning of SBTC, these remaining details have removed them all for me.

A picture of Patsy "bearing the crown" on CNN:


http://www.geocities.com/Area51/nebula/9337/ramseyscnn.jpg


The last message Patsy wanted to share before her death:


"While it would be easy for us this day to remember and celebrate the face of Miss West Virginia and her beautiful crown, I challenge you to seal in your hearts the image of Patsy wearing her heavenly crown," the Rev. Nancy Folsom said. "Because we say without a doubt today that she will indeed dwell in the house of the Lord forever."

Folsom said that's the message Ramsey, 49, wanted to share before she lost her 13-year battle with ovarian cancer Saturday."(snip)

http://www.dailycamera.com/bdc/county_news/article/0,1713,BDC_2423_4812820,00.html

OHHH Patsy was definitely the one sharing it,not God.
JMO.

 

[Ames]

Hi guys,
Here is my analysis of the RN, based on http://www.statementanalysis.com/ramseynote/

To be honest, this is EXACTLY the type of RN that my mother would write if she was ever asked to write one. It's completely naive yet laden with just enough cliches to convince her that it's plausible.

The biggest give-away that it's not written by a "professional kidnapper" is the lack of conviction in the phrasing. "We might call you", "the two gentlemen watching over your daughter do not particularly like you so I advise you not to provoke them." ,"You stand a 99%
chance of killing your daughter if you try to out smart us."

It is interesting to note that the only time anything truly commanding and compelling is said is when it's in someone else's words (movie lines and cliches). For example: "immediate execution of your daughter", "If we catch you talking to a stray dog, she dies.", "Don't try to grow a brain John. You are not the only fat cat around so don't think that killing will be difficult".

Whoever wrote the RN obviously has a problem confronting people and being outright "mean" to people. It seems that the author of the note doesn't usually use words like “hate” or “murder” and finds it difficult to directly insult someone or give bad news that is concise and straight to the point.

What is most telling is the wording of the following statements: “Any deviation of my instructions will result in the immediate execution of your daughter… Speaking to anyone about your situation, such as Police, F.B.I., etc., will result in your daughter being beheaded. If we catch you. talking to a stray dog, she dies. If you alert bank authorities, she dies. If the money is in any way marked or tampered with, she dies. You will be scanned for electronic devices and if any are found, she dies.”

There is no-one attributed to killing JBR. It is, “she dies”, not “we will kill her”. Speaking to the FBI “will result in your daughter being beheaded”, not “if you speak to the FBI we will behead her”. There is an inability to accept responsibility for her death. Her death is being attributed to some sort of outside force; it will just happen, without being anyone’s fault. This seems to admit some sort of denial of culpability for JBR’s death. It implies that the writer of the note knows that she is dead but is unable to come to terms with the fact that the death was caused by someone’s positive actions.

I think that too much as been made out of the use of the word “hence”. I’m Australian, so I’m not completely aware of the American usage of this word, but I use it all the time, especially when writing. What is important to note about this word, however, is the fact that it is indicative of a higher education. It is mostly used in formal and academic writing and it is unlikely that someone without a university education would use it.

One thing is for sure, the writer of the note certainly isn’t “foreign”. I agree entirely with Mark McClish’s interpretation that you are unlikely to consider yourself “foreign” even if you are. In my opinion, however, it is the reference to “that good old southern common sense of yours” that is the dead give-away that the author is not foreign. I’m “foreign” and it is highly unlikely that “foreigners” will distinguish between “southern” Americans and “normal” Americans. “Foreigners” would also be completely unaware that southerners are even characterised by their common sense in the first place. The writer of the note is clearly familiar and conscious of the differences between North and South and had probably had to deal with cultural differences between North and South in their everyday life.

As for the SBTC, I also think too much has been made out of this. I don’t think it (consciously) stands for anything, it was just thrown in for credibility, perhaps to give the “small foreign faction” some sort of name. I do think, however, that the writer of the note commonly abbreviates things in his or her everyday life.

It is also interesting to note the unfailing use of full-stops in the abbreviations: “F.B.I.” “etc.” “Mr.”, S.B.T.C.”. Again, I’m not sure about the American situation, but in Australia, since the early 90s, it has been unfashionable to abbreviate this way. It is taught in schools just to write “FBI, Mr, etc, SBTC”. The writer has obviously been well taught the old way, so it is likely that he or she completed college at least 10 years before 1996.

Below is an extremely interesting observation from twinkiesmom that I agree with. I don’t necessarily assert that the author of the note is a trained writer or editor, but they have clearly had a college education that requires careful editing of their writing.



I also remember reading somewhere that there is a relatively large margin on the left hand side of the RN pages and this is a common convention used by journalists.

I need to go off-track for a minute, but trust me it is relevant to the ransom note. My mother has no idea of the value of money. She does the grocery shopping, so knows how much that costs, but her husband pays all the bills and the mortgage. She doesn’t know how much money her husband earns and, when they were getting their house valued she estimated that it would be worth “at least $150 000” when it was really worth about $600 000. They have recently taken out another mortgage for $100 000 and she is in a massive panic attack that she will lose her job and they won’t be able to afford the repayments (despite the fact that her husband earns more than enough to pay three times that amount on his income alone).

$118 000 is the type of figure that my mother would use in a ransom note. It seems like a lot of money to those who aren’t used to having to worry about paying for anything and are unfamiliar with the real value of money. It is such a MASSIVE coincidence that John received an $118 000 bonus that I can’t help but think that the writer of the note had to have been aware of this.

I believe the following two sentences are also very revealing: “You will also be denied her remains for proper burial. The two gentlemen watching over your daughter…”. These sentences reveal a strong Christian background. I’ve noticed from September 11 that Americans are extremely concerned with their relatives receiving a “proper Christian burial”, something that Australians (mostly non-Christian) aren’t so concerned about. I also agree that “watching over” has strong Christian connotations. The writer of the note is either a “strong Christian”, or has had a Christian upbringing.

So, in summary, in my opinion, the writer of the note:
1) Is used to being “charming” and does not usually say aggressive, hateful or insulting things to other people.
2) Is not a hardened criminal.
3) Has a college education, probably in an area that requires formal writing.
4) Is unconcerned about money, probably because he or she doesn’t control the money in his or her every day life.
5) Has a Christian background
6) Is American and is southern or has strong southern ties.
7) Was over 30 in 1996.

From John Ramsey's 1997 Interview...

16 LOU SMIT: Okay. And I know, John, that it
17 really hurts to talk about this guy, but that's
18 probably all you've thought about since day one.
19 You must have a mental picture of the type of
20 person this is. I mean, in your mind. I know I
21 have a mental picture of various people that I
22 would look at. But I'm sure you think about this
23 all the time.
24 JOHN RAMSEY: Oh, absolutely, everyday. You
25 know. Of course, my first instinct is, it was a
0040
1 man. Because of some of the similarities,
2 apparently in Patsy's handwriting, I wondered if
3 it was a woman.


John even admits that the handwriting was similar to Patsy's and that he wondered if the author was a woman!

I can answer that question....Yes John, it was a woman...it was your wife, Patsy that wrote the note...thats why there were so many similarities. What are the odds that an intruder would come into the Ramsey home and write a ransom note, with a handwriting that was similar to Patsys??

 

[BBB167893]

Let's see:

her hubby, her sis, her mom...

Tsk, tsk, tsk.

 

[Chiquita71]

Hello WS

I ran across "the gender genie." It is "Inspired by an article and a test in The New York Times Magazine, the Gender Genie uses a simplified version of an algorithm developed by Moshe Koppel, Bar-Ilan University in Israel, and Shlomo Argamon, Illinois Institute of Technology, to predict the gender of an author. Read more at BookBlog, The New York Times, and The Guardian." (Copied from website.)

When I put the ransom note into the generator it said the Gender Genie thinks the author is female.

I just thought it was interesting.

ETA: It might be nice if I gave the link to the gender genie...huh? LOL.
http://bookblog.net/gender/genie.php

...js...

 

[Toltec]

Of course the ransom note was written by Patsy...

(8) exclamation marks on the Ramsey 1996 Christmas letter.

(3) year 1997 written on the Ramsey 1996 Christmas letter.

"and hence" written on the Ramsey 1997 Christmas letter.

Words used by Ramseys often in their book DOI:

scanned, respected, gentlemen, scanned, properly, possesion.

 

[JMO8778]

not only that,toltec,but in DOI,I think Patsy gave away the way the RN was written when she said she and JR each wrote a version of the Christmas letter that contained the words 'and hence',and merged the twops.